


join the syndicate

by yuudoufu



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adoption, Alternate universe - Mafia, BAMF Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Blood, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Minor Violence, bungou stray dogs au, crime syndicate, don't be fooled by the summary it gets dark real quick at the end lol, mafia, the tags contradict the summary help, toffee swirls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28976955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuudoufu/pseuds/yuudoufu
Summary: Ranboo shoots a sour look at the now decimated wall where there lays a small perfect cube carved out from the thick plaster. “Sorry,” is the first thing he says, and it doesn’t even begin to explain how the fuck he was able to take a chunk of the wall out from its position. He grimaces, wrinkling his nose once he realizes that Phil is still staring at him. “It’s something I accidentally do.”Huh. So this Ranboo. Inadvertently. Takes a cube. From the walls. And it’s normal. What the fuck isn’t a strong enough phrase for Phil to use in this situation, so he merely stares, eyes unblinking until they water from how long they’ve been open.Or: The Double-Edged Syndicate takes in one more member who accidentally takes blocks of concrete out of walls in his sleep and likes to give his new brothers piggyback and teleportation rides.
Relationships: Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade
Comments: 18
Kudos: 603
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	join the syndicate

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be entirely wholesome, but my brain went: hey wouldn't it be fun is we wrote BAMF techno for fun
> 
> and then we ran with it
> 
> also inspired by bungou stray dogs (which is a v cool anime about mafia + detectives + supernatural abilities) and [Syndicate [Technoblade DSMP OG song] by Derivakat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbqKnuW_Q6E)

“It’s time I started looking for a protegee now, don’t you think, Phil?” Techno whimsically says one day as his pen moves hastily across the bundle of papers on his desk. 

Now, Phil, who’s—mind you— _never_ heard Techno make such a request before, is startled to the point where he nearly drops the cup of tea in his hands. Some of the liquid spills over the edge, drowning the cracks of his fingers with lukewarm water. 

“A protegee?” he parrots, scurrying to clean up the mess. “I mean, that’s great, Techno, but why now of all times?”

Techno shrugs indifferently, throwing down sheets of paper onto his desk with a plop. “I’m bored. And maybe it’ll be a nice addition to the family.”

“A child, then. I thought you didn’t like orphans?”

“I do not. But this one’s an exception.” Techno leans back in his seat, making eye contact with Phil. “I have my eyes set on someone already, and I think Tommy and Tubbo would appreciate more company in their free time.” 

“Are they going to be an ability user?” Phil questions, because ability users are rare, and if they were to adopt another child with another exceedingly unstable ability, who knows what the price of reconstruction for the house would be (he hopes it doesn’t end up like That One Time Something So Chaotic Happened That The Reparations Were Literally Through The Roof).

Techno lets out a short huff of what seems like laughter. “Yes. An ability user. I’ve already done all the research.”

Phil raises an eyebrow. “Did you ask Wilbur for his ability again?” 

“Oh, no, no. I did all research manually, but you have absolutely _no_ idea how tight the security system was. It was ridiculous,” Techno exasperates, standing up and walking over to Phil. He collapses into the seat in front of the other and hands him the soft copy of what looks like an application. 

“You’ve settled, then. We’re taking him under our wing?” Phil runs his hands over the fresh ink copied onto the paper and flips through the information stapled together: Ranboo. Ability user the age of seventeen with the power to teleport. Peculiar. 

“Precisely. I’ll give him the option of deciding whether or not he wants to join the Double-Edged Syndicate first so it doesn’t seem as if I forcefully pushed him into our world down here.”

Fair enough, fair enough. “Why’d you choose him?”

“He caught my eye is all. It does seem like he has potential that shouldn’t be wasted rotting away in an orphanage, and he might bring use to the Syndicate as well, so…”

Phil speaks his next question out slowly, with caution, eyes flitting over to Techno’s, “What role are you going to train him to be…?”

Techno pours himself a cup of steaming tea and takes a sip before he replies with his legs cross and an easy-going smile on his lips (and, oh, Phil’s not going to like the answer that comes out of the other’s mouth when he’s wearing _that_ type of grin).

“An anime protagonist.”

Phil blinks.

“What.”

* * *

The new “anime protagonist” or as Techno dubs Ranboo as, moves in with them the following Monday after all papers are signed. And the first thing that Phil notices about Ranboo is that:

1\. His eyes are like Christmas lights.  
2\. He’s fucking tall Jesus fucking Christ.  
3\. He’s nervous as fuck and nearly hits the top of the doorframe when coming in.

“You are so fucking tall,” Tommy breathes as he tilts his head up to take a look at the newcomer. “Holy fuck what the fuck did they feed you?” 

Ranboo fidgets uncomfortably with the hem of his shirt, eyes glued to the floor. “Uh—”

“Whoa!” Tubbo chimes in, circling Ranboo and observing his every move. “You’re going to be living with us from now on? That’s so cool, holy shit.”

“I—”

“There, there, guys, give the lad some space,” Phil shoos them away. He turns to Ranboo with a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that, they get excited whenever they meet someone new. They’ll calm down in time.”

Ranboo visibly relaxes, and his body stops shaking. “It’s alright.” 

“We’re having your stuff moved to your room already, so no need to fret. I think Techno’s in his study right now, would you like to meet him?” 

“M-Meet him? Now?” 

Phil pats him on the back lightly, flashing him an easy grin. “Don’t worry, he’s not mean or anything. We’re a big family here. You’ll fit right in eventually.” 

Ranboo nods his head slowly, throat bobbing. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is your name?” 

Phil stops short and fuck. He hasn’t introduced himself yet despite being the first one to greet him. 

“Oh, sorry, mate,” he apologizes, taking off his hat. “Name’s Philza. And like you, I’m also an ability user.”

The look on Ranboo’s face shifts from anxious to one of awe, even. His eyes brighten and his mouth gapes open, and Philza laughs to himself, wondering how Ranboo would react once he realizes that nearly everyone in this household is in possession of an ability. 

“My ability is called Mine Craft, which is, I’d say, very fitting for my ability. Whatever I tattoo onto my skin or other’s skin comes to life at will. So, like, you know, Mine Craft because what I craft is mine— Yeahahaha— Anyway, you see, uh, for example—” Phil rolls up his sleeve, showing Ranboo the circles of runes tattooed around his wrist and forearms. “These runes here allow me to craft weapons at will and they provide like medical aid on demand. Very helpful in our cases. Oh, and I also have a pair of wings tattooed on my back, so yeah. That’s cool. Oh— Are you alright, mate?”

The look that Ranboo gives Philza literally sparkles, and if he weren’t so fucking tall, Phil would have mistaken him for a child who’s just seen his idol in real life. “That is… so, so cool. That’s like ten times better than mine.”

“Hey, hey,” Phil stops him short before Ranboo can open his mouth again, “no self-depreciation in this household. Absolutely forbidden. Nope. Everyone’s ability is useful in some way; there isn’t a useless one. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.” He mocks a bow, placing his hat back on his head. 

“I’m sorry— I didn’t mean to do that; it’s a habit—”

“Don’t worry, mate, don’t be so uptight. We’re a family now, yeah? Don’t apologize for things that are trivial like such. You have nothing to be sorry for, got that?” 

Ranboo swallows thickly. “Yessir.”

“Phil is fine. No need to be so formal either. We’re all like each other in some way. Don’t be so hard on yourself, mate.” 

“Got it, si- I mean, Phil.” 

Phil crosses his arms in contentment before gesturing at Ranboo to follow him down one of the hallways. “Techno’s probably not busy right now, but even if he is, I’m sure he’s going to make an exception.”

“An exception? For me?” 

Phil turns to look at Ranboo incredulously. “Did he not tell you? Wait, what _did_ he tell you?”

Ranboo stops to think for a while, eyebrows creasing together. It doesn’t seem to work, Phil notices, but then Ranboo reaches into the bag at his side and takes out a mini journal. He flips through the contents, lands on a page, and starts reading from it.

“Well, he told me about how the Antarctic Core is just a cover-up for the Double-Edged Syndicate, and uh, whether or not I would want to join the organization… Sorry,” he grimaces, closing the book, “my memory is scuffed at times, so I rely on writing it down to remember things.” 

“That’s totally fine,” Phil reassures Ranboo, “so you do know that we’re actually the Syndicate—that’s a pretty big thing for Techno to give away at first contact, but I guess regarding the circumstances, it’s plausible. So he hasn’t told you that he’s taking you as his protegee.”

Ranboo blinks.

Phil blinks back.

“I’m sorry. _What_.”

Wait. Oh, shit. “On second thought, maybe he would have wanted to keep that as a surprise—”

“This isn’t a joke, right?”

“If this was a joke you wouldn’t be here,” Phil deadpans. 

“Why me, though?” 

Phil shrugs, because, in all honesty, he doesn’t know why either. “Couldn’t tell you even if I knew. I think that’s up to him to explain to you. Speaking of Techno, we’re here.” 

They stand in front of one of the study doors left ajar, and from inside, voices drift out into the corridor. 

“Can you access this, though?” 

“I’ve never tried.”

“It’s literally your ability, Wilbur.”

“Oh, right, I guess I could try. One day tops.”

A pause.

“Well, the faster we get information out of this thing, the better. Thanks for helping out again.”

“Yeah, no problem. Say, once you get the information out, can I keep the device?” 

“Are you for real.”

“Whaaat? It’s not like it’s going to possess me or something.”

“Are you talking from experience of being possessed…?”

A laugh. “Something like that. Though I’d like to believe that the supernatural isn’t real, but anyway, can I?” 

“Knock yourself out. Just make sure it doesn’t have any more of those dormant tracking devices in it.” 

“You got it, chief.” 

Phil knocks on the door and clears his throat. The men inside direct their attention toward the door and Techno shoves whatever that device is into Wilbur’s hands. 

“Phil,” Techno acknowledges. “He’s here, then, I presume?” 

“Right next to me.” Phil pushes the door out of the way, revealing Ranboo who’s slouching more than usual to make himself look smaller. “Come in, mate.” 

“Hey, you must be Ranboo, right?” Wilbur stashes the device into his coat pocket and offers a hand out for Ranboo to shake. “Name’s Wilbur; welcome to the family!”

Ranboo looks slightly stunned if more than anything, clasping Wilbur’s hand in his and exchanging the greeting. 

“I heard that you have a teleportation ability. What’s it called if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“Ah… Uhm, my guardians used to call it Ender Pearl, for some unknown reason.”

“Ender Pearl, that’s a very catchy name for an ability. Mine’s pretty long, though. It’s called ‘The Internet Ruined Me’.”

“The Internet…?”

“A very funny name, isn’t it? But it lowkey matches what I can do. Well, it gives me the capability to control any device or malware I can get my hands on.” Wilbur’s hands fumble with the device he’d taken from Techno moments prior. “Like this.”

Ranboo shoots a look at Phil, who gives him a thumbs up. “You have an extraordinary ability, sir.”

“Oh, no. Please don’t be so formal. I may look very sophisticated from the outside but I’m an idiot on the inside, so please, no formalities.”

“Thought you’d never say that,” Phil beams. “Thank you for embracing your true nature.”

“Oh, shut up, Phil. Anywho, I’ll be taking my leave now to let you guys talk. See ya.” 

Phil cackles, ruffling Wilbur’s hair as the other takes his exit from the room. The door shuts behind them, and footsteps recede into the hallway.

“So, Ranboo, is everything going fine so far?” Techno inquires once the doors are closed. Phil monitors their conversation to the side of the room, careful not to interject. 

“Yes. It’s very, uhm, homey here.” Ranboo slouches even further, rubbing the hem of his shirt. “Er—Thank you for taking me in.” 

“I’m glad you’re settling in well. I’m pretty sure Phil’s told you the reason why I’ve reached out to you with the offer of joining the Syndicate?” Techno eyes Phil, and Phil feels cold sweat on the back of his neck, because, whoops, the news had slipped too early from his mouth by accident. 

“I—I have. It’s an honor, really, uh—My ability isn’t really that stable right now—”

Techno waves him off. “That’s alright. Nothing a bit of training can’t help fix.”

“Training?”

“Yes. I will take you under my wing and make you the best anime protagonist the world has ever seen.” 

Ranboo, again, is at a loss for words, and Phil is trying his hardest not to laugh at the ridiculous analogy Techno insists on making. The latter, however, is, by all means, serious—and a bit _too_ serious maybe, Phil thinks—and poor Ranboo is quite literally withering under Techno’s gaze like a flower that hasn’t been watered in ages. 

“I beg your pardon—” Ranboo starts, certainly about to ask about the “best anime protagonist” title Techno had just bestowed upon him, “—a protagonist?” 

Techno loses his grave demeanor at that second, hanging his head in defeat. “No one gets my jokes, man. I’m so floored. What I’m trying to say is that I’m taking you under my care basically. You’re now my protegee. Unless you have any objections, that is.”

“None, sir, uh, it’s an honor, actually.” 

“As Wilbur said, no formalities. Techno is fine. Besides that, alright then, your training will start tomorrow. How do you feel about it being called Ranboo’s training arc? Anime protagonist shenanigans.”

“Will I have to go to the mountains, then?” 

Techno blinks, startled that Ranboo caught on to the joke. “If you want to, we can. You can sit under a waterfall like Naruto and then we can discover some ninja village on the way up.”

Ranboo lets out a laugh, and Techno follows in suit. The tension from before ceases to exist. Phil finds a smile tugging at his lips; maybe all of this will work out after all.

* * *

Phil wakes up to a crashing sound downstairs in the middle of the night. His heart rate increases within a second, and he has a hand on the runes on his wrist while he runs down the stairs, anticipating an attack in the house. The reaches the end of the stairs, weapon drawn in a palm, only to realize that it’s Ranboo who’s

holding a chunk of the wall in his… hands?

Ranboo shoots a sour look at the now decimated wall where there lays a small perfect cube carved out from the thick plaster. “Sorry,” is the first thing he says, and it doesn’t even begin to explain how the fuck he was able to take a chunk of the wall out from its position. He grimaces, wrinkling his nose once he realizes that Phil is still staring at him. “It’s something I accidentally do.”

Huh. So this Ranboo. Inadvertently. Takes a cube. From the walls. And it’s normal. What the fuck isn’t a strong enough phrase for Phil to use in this situation, so he merely stares, eyes unblinking until they water from how long they’ve been open. 

“How did you,” Phil starts as the footsteps descend the stairs as well, “accidentally take—” he gestures to the block of concrete in his hands, “—that.”

Ranboo’s expression mirrors one of shame, and he tries to put the block back into place. By that time, the rest of the family is downstairs, gaping at the hole. 

“What in the ever-loving hell.” Tommy’s jaw drops. 

“I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen again—”

“Again?” Tubbo echoes. “Wait, you’re telling us that you can just do that at will? Hold on, can you take a piece of me apart, too?” 

“I wouldn’t say at will, and I don’t think it’s the best option to take a piece of you—”

“Didn’t the biography only say he can teleport?” Techno turns to Phil, who’s just as clueless as him. 

“Ah,” Ranboo scratches the back of his head with one hand, “they told me to not tell anyone? Because I could probably hurt other people by accidentally doing this more than once.”

“I can’t believe this is the first thing I wake up to. And it’s not even three in the morning,” Wilbur jokes. 

“I don’t know. My memory just blacks out. It blacked out after I saw the wall dissect itself into cubes and the next thing I know, I’m holding a piece of the wall—”

“—wait holy shit you can _take_ shit out of walls with your mind—”

“—honestly, that is so cool—”

“—is it because of some trauma that makes your mind blackout—”

“—his training is going to take more time than I thought—”

“Alright, alright, everyone shut the fuck up and let the man talk.”

Ranboo doesn’t know where to start, mouth opening and closing. “I really already told you the gist of it, uh, that’s really all I know. Random blackout periods and boom. I become the wielder of blocks of concrete walls. Also I sometimes randomly teleport? In my sleep? And that’s how I found myself down here, I guess. It’s really weird. All of this is weird. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry, mate,” Phil cuts in, taking the block of concrete from Ranboo’s hands and placing it next to what’s left of the wall. “It’s only a wall, nothing we can’t fix. Don’t stress yourself over it.”

Ranboo, still uneasy, flits his eyes over to Techno, whose hair is tousled from sleeping. 

“It’s alright, Ranboo. You still don’t have control over your ability. I don’t blame you. We can take care of that problem tomorrow.” Techno lets out a yawn, rubbing his eyes. “I’m going to go back to sleep. Goodnight.”

The rest of the group begins to disperse, Tubbo and Tommy going back to their rooms while Wilbur’s already passed out on the living room couch, unable to handle any more of the conversation. 

Phil places a hand on Ranboo’s arm, leading him back upstairs after he’d thrown a blanket over Wilbur.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, ‘kay?” Phil says, tucking Ranboo in. “We all struggled with our abilities at once. We understand. It’s all good.”

“Yeah… Thank you, Phil.” Ranboo seems reluctant to take the assurance, but he nods nevertheless.

“No problem. Now sleep well. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.” Phil turns off the lights and leaves the door open slightly as he exits. 

The house immerses itself into silence once more.

* * *

“How tall are you exactly?” Tommy inquires the next morning, studying Ranboo from where he’s trying to eat his cereal in peace (but Tommy was just so annoying god bless). 

Phil doesn’t pay them much attention, focusing on reading the article in front of him. The kids squabble in the background, and he wishes he has more coffee to keep up with their exuberance.

“We could always measure you if you don’t know,” Tubbo adds in, bringing out a measuring tape. “You look like you’re actually seven feet.”

“Hey, that’s illegal, hand me some of your fucking height.” Tommy jumps up, attempting to reach toward Ranboo’s neck. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” 

“At least let me be taller, Jesus Christ, selfish prick.”

“Let the man be taller, Ranboo!” Tubbo endorses all so enthusiastically. “He wants to be taller!”

Ranboo ponders for a moment. “Have you tried stilettos?”

“What the fuck.”

“Just a suggestion. Try drinking more milk maybe.”

“You piece of shit—I drink lots of milk— More milk than you do, fuckwad. I’ll use my ability to get your height, Ranboo, I swear.”

“You have an ability?”

“Of fucking course. Who do you think I am? My ability is—”

“—Tommy doesn’t have an ability—”

“—beating the shit out of people like you— Hey! Tubbo! Was that really necessary? That was so not fucking necessary.”

Tubbo gives Tommy a nonchalant shrug, and Tommy, in return, flips him off. 

“I do have an idea, though…”

When Phil finally looks up from his coffee to see what the kids are up to while Techno’s away, they’re gone, away from the dining hall and to somewhere, wherever they are. At least Ranboo’s getting along with Tommy and Tubbo. That’s good. The kid’s starting to fit right in. 

Phil places his empty mug in the dishwasher before he leaves to enter his study again, taking his time walking down the elaborate corridors. And just when he thinks that he’s able to be at peace, he’s wrong.

“PHILZA MYNECRAFT. WE DEMAND BLOOD.”

Phil jumps out of his own fucking skin when he turns around to see Ranboo and Tommy staring down at him from three feet up. 

“What the _fuck_.” Phil chokes out. On top of Ranboo’s shoulders sits Tommy, who seems like he’s having the absolute time of his life being higher than everyone else. 

“We can teleport, Philza Mynecraft, but can _you_? The answer is no, because we are far more superior than you.” And to prove their point, Ranboo and Tommy blink out of sight, teleporting away, then reemerging from behind Phil. “Haha, fucker!”

Phil screams just as Tubbo runs down the hallway, panting heavily when he arrives. “You guys are so damn _fast_.” 

“Yeah, bitch! We rule this household! The Antarctic Core is ours!” 

Ranboo offers an arm out to Tubbo, and they all make weird faces at Phil before Ranboo teleports them away again to some other part of the house. The hallways fall silent once more.

And Phil swears, he’s not getting paid enough to deal with this shit on a daily basis.

* * *

“I don’t know if this is out of place to ask,” Ranboo starts on the ride to their training grounds, “but what exactly is your ability, Techno?” 

Phil looks up from his phone, caught off guard by the question. That.. was a touchy subject that not even Phil dared to ask about because 1. Techno’s only told him the gist of it, and the other clues he had gotten from rumors, and 2. Techno’s never talked about it to _anyone_ at all. For all the household and the outside world knows, Techno’s ability is stronger than that of an average ability wielder, and how he received it was never touched upon either.

When the silence starts to prolong, Phil stares at Ranboo, then at Techno, then back at Ranboo, anticipating one or the other to start speaking. There’s a deep sigh from the seat across from him, and Techno glances at Ranboo with half-lidded eyes.

“O-Of course,” Ranboo stutters out, evidently intimidated, “you don’t have to talk about it—curiosity gets the best of me sometimes.”

“No need to look so frightened, Ranboo.” Techno’s lips curl up into a smile. “My ability is simply not spoken a lot about since I choose not to. Many people don’t know what it is, and I won’t reveal what it is either, but I can tell you the rumors. They say that I can kill a person without touching them and that I drink their blood after I reap their souls, which, in my humblest of opinions, is ludicrous.” 

Phil really doesn’t think Ranboo needs more trauma after what Techno has said. “There’s nothing to fear about Techno if you’re on his good side,” so he adds on. “Definitely don’t need to fear him if you’re already his protegee.”

“It’s really up to you whether or not you wish to sit around and drink in all those incoherent rumors about my ability or try figuring it out yourself. I don’t mind if you do, but I’ll tell you one thing: It’s almost impossible to figure out how simply by looking at the way I use it.” Techno tugs on his gloves before running his fingers through his hair. 

“Ah, then—”

The car decides to screech to a stop in the middle of nowhere, tires squealing against the asphalt and it nearly throws Phil out of his seat. “What the fuck—” he starts, but there’s the clicking of guns being loaded outside and oh _fuck_ not at a time like this, they wouldn’t dare.

“Tell the Blade to come out or we’ll shoot!” comes a muffled voice outside. 

They _could_ shoot all they wanted, but the car was essentially bulletproof and their attempts would be futile in the end. But now there’s Ranboo…

“What’s happening?” Ranboo manages to get out, hands gripping the edge of his seat. “An attempt on your life?” 

“Seems like it again.” Techno heaves a sigh, acting as if it’s the most normal thing to happen to him (which, it is, but Ranboo’s only been here for a good one day and isn’t aware of all the other corporations and organizations that would love to have the had of the Blade served on a silver platter for their rivals to see). “We’ll go deal with them.” He gestures to Phil. “You’re staying here, Ranboo.” 

“Wait, but—”

In a flash of light, Phil produces two handguns, one of which he tosses to Techno, who snatches it from the air swiftly, and the other he holds in his own hand. 

“Whatever you do,” Techno tells Ranboo sternly, “do _not_ get out of the car. Not even if I tell you to.”

“Wait—”

Phil leads the way first before Ranboo can add on with anything else to say, throwing the car door open to a squad of men who hold them at gunpoint. Techno holds up his arms, and Phil follows lead, just as they’ve done plenty of times in the past attempts. 

“You could’ve just killed me in the car, you know,” Techno says placidly. “There was no need for you to lure us out with such tactics.”

The first bullet rings through the air, striking the wall behind Techno and scratching his right cheek. The first blood is drawn from the cut that opens on Techno’s face, and Phil brings out his gun, light green wings materializing behind him as he takes to the air. 

From below, the forces start swarming and yelling, attacking Techno all at once in a wave. They have no coordination, Phil observes in his air strike, shooting down whoever Techno doesn’t notice. There’s a brutal scream when the snap of bone echoes through the empty street, and there’s a rifle in Techno’s hands already, taken from the opposing forces. 

He’s not using his ability even with this amount of people, relying on his brute strength instead. There is no need to use unnecessary power, in the end, Phil decides. Half the forces are on the ground when Techno finishes the last of them off, blood staining his hands and splashed over his face. 

“You’re forgetting one!” someone shouts from near the vehicle, and Phil freezes midflight. Ranboo’s out of the car, standing in front of an ability user who’s slapped a giant clock on his chest, holding him by gunpoint.

Techno immediately ceases his attacks and the rest of the squadron readies their guns at him. The air goes stale. Phil remains in his spot, trying to find a good way to attack the man who has Ranboo hostage.

“If he moves, he dies. If you move, he dies,” The ability user states smugly as if he has the higher ground now. 

“Listen,” Techno demands slowly, “you’re going to let him go. He is innocent.”

The man lets out a chortle, pressing the barrel of the gun closer to Ranboo’s back. “Him? This kid? I highly doubt anyone associated with the Blade is genuinely innocent.” 

“You’re sick.” Techno rubs the blood off his face with his gloves, smearing it along the black fabric. “Let him go already.”

“Not until you surrender. Put down your gun first and then kneel with your hands on the back of your head.” The bullet in the gun clicks into place. “ _Now_ ”

“Okay, okay. No need to be so reckless.” Techno puts down the rifle, lowering himself onto his knees and placing his hands on the back of his head. “Happy now?” The men positioned around Techno cuff restraints around his wrists, making sure that he can’t move his arms.

The man lets out a sadistic grin. “Now that you’re restrained, I’m still going to kill this kid, even if you did surrender.”

From up here, Phil sees Techno’s eyes narrow, and well, fuck. The man just earned himself a one-way ticket to Hell.

“I’d rethink that if I were you.”

The smile slides off the man’s face when he realizes he can’t move his limbs. His whole body must be paralyzed by now. Phil starts his descent from above, swooping down to knock out the rest of the people around Techno. 

The restraints break with ease once the floor has been wiped with the blood of the enemies, and Techno takes off his gloves, striding toward the ability user and Ranboo.

“I’ll take him back now, thank you.” Techno takes Ranboo by the shoulders, the clock that was on his chest now gone. The kid’s shaking by the time he makes it into Phil’s arms, legs buckling as he slides to the ground. 

“Here. I’ll take care of the rest. It’s better if you don’t see this part, though.” Techno takes off the jacket around his shoulders, throwing it over Ranboo’s huddled figure. “Calm yourself.”

“Alright, now.” He turns to the man. “Usually I’d take you back to headquarters for interrogation, but you threatened me and Phil and my protegee at that, which was very unnecessary, and yet you did so anyway, so give me One Good Reason why I shouldn’t kill you here.”

The man’s too stunned to respond, and Phil turns his head away once Techno stops in front of the ability user. 

“Well, that’s a weak answer. May you burn in hell.” He snaps his fingers, and the man doesn’t even get to scream before he crumples to the ground, lifeless. “We’ll get the cleanup crew here sometime after. Ranboo, you alright down there?”

“You’re seriously asking a kid who’s been held at gunpoint if he’s okay or not.” Phil gives Techno an ‘are-you-serious’ face that makes the other wince. 

“I—I think I’m fi-fine,” Ranboo bites out. “I’m supposed—I’m supposed to get used to this eventually, right?” 

“Kid’s not wrong.” 

“ _Techno_.”

“Alright, alright. You will get used to this type of violence, eventually. But as for now, it was a horrible experience. We usually don’t let the younger members of the household get tangled in such things. Kids are supposed to be kids. There’s no point in inflicting more trauma.” Techno bites his bottom lip. “Apologies for getting you caught up in this mess. But I do understand if you want to leave the Syndicate now that you’ve seen this.”

A tangible silence resides between the three. Phil glances at Techno, who awaits Ranboo’s answer with sharp eyes. 

“I—I want to stay.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” No hesitance.

Techno relaxes his shoulders, clearing his throat. “Good, because I’ve grown rather attached to you.”

Ranboo looks up in surprise. “Really? Wait, can you repeat that?” 

“No.”

“Wait, Techno, pl-please?” 

“No, kid. I said what I said.” 

“Please! One more time!”

“I said no.”

“Come on, Techno, for the kid.”

“No.”

“You’re going to give me more trauma by not repeating it.”

“That’s not how trauma works, Ranboo.”

“I can no longer pog through the pain.”

* * *

“Hold the phone, does this mean that I’m adopted now?”

“Huh? What do you mean, mate? You were already adopted from the start. You’re part of the family now, are you not?”

“But I thought I was just Techno’s protegee?”

“...”

“...”

"..."

“Are you telling me that—”

“Ranboo. You’ve been adopted ever since you stepped foot in the house. You’re not an orphan anymore.”

“...”

“...”

“Sorry, _what_.”

**Author's Note:**

> i imagine ranboo and techno's relationship to be like tony stark and peter parker's which is very funny and hence the OOC at the end whoops
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/yuudoufu)


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